I am sick, can Yoshi get it?

[Yoshi's Mama]

I am so sick and am so scared that it will kill Yoshi if I give it to him. I haven't felt this bad in years! Bad cough, sore throat, chills then hot.. Will Yoshi be in danger of getting this? If so, he will be a goner because he is so little. I think I have bronchitis. Going to doctor Monday.

[Sara!]

I know that birds can get bronchitis, but I don't know if they can catch a human strain. I wouldn't be surprised if they could, though. IMO quarantine birdy just in case!

[Sayuri]

Most likely not. Most human viruses are not communicable with parrots. Some are... but most are not.

Psittacosis can present in human beings as a common cold, but if you have a fever, psittacosis it is not. Psittacosis is a respiratory ailment that affects parrots, and this is usually not serious in otherwise healthy birds.

There are rumors circulating in some of the parrot forums that H1N1 is transmissible between human and parrot, because there is an avian component to the virus, but I have found zero scientific or even reasonable anecdotal evidence to support this. Just because a disease has an avian component does not necessarily indicate that it is presently transmissible to any or all types of birds.

I've had many many infections over the years and my birds have never caught them. I have a compromised immune system due to advanced autoimmune disease, so I get sick much more often than the ordinary person. In a lifetime of parrot companionship, the only human-type infection I have ever seen a parrot catch is MRSA and the jury is still out with regards to whether or not the MRSA parrots become infected with is the same as human MRSA.

Take the same precautions you would take to keep other human beings in your living area from catching a disease- wash hands carefully, cover your mouth with your sleeve when you cough or sneeze... I would not go so far as to quarantine yourself from your birds.

Here is a page with diseases that are, in VERY RARE cases, transmissible between parrots and human beings. None of them resemble the flu-like ailment you describe (unless you are ill from extreme sensitivity to your birds' dander- in which case there is no danger of passing it on to your birds) and most are much more likely to pass from an imported bird or a bird from a sick aviary to a human owner. In most cases, diseases that pass between bird and human being result from unsanitary conditions where the fecal matter of the bird contaminates the food a person is eating. (i.e. a person cleans a sick bird's cage and then prepares food without proper handwashing).

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps019

[chapala]

Excellent post Sayuri! No need to worry with the vast majority of human illnesses. However, bacterial infections can be picked up by a parrot.

[enborgle]

Great post Sayuri, thanks for sharing all of that information!

[Sara!]

Holy moly, that answers my questions

[Sayuri]

Excellent post Sayuri! No need to worry with the vast majority of human illnesses. However, bacterial infections can be picked up by a parrot.

You are absolutely right. Some bacteria that can infect human beings can also infect birds. Not all is transmissible, but some diseases are... and some of the bacteria that is HEALTHY for a human being can make a bird sick.

I recently learned from an avian veterinarian that the healthy gram negative bacteria in the human mouth can be dangerous to birds- so they should never share food that's been in our mouths/be allowed to preen inside our mouths. (My parrotlet Benny actively tries to pry my mouth open and would climb right in and preen the back of my throat if I let him!)

However, the healthy gram positive bacteria in a parrots' crop is not a problem for human beings, even in the case of a bite that breaks the skin, because parrots' mouths are dry and very little of the bacteria can survive in their mouths for more than seconds at a time.

There is so much that is unknown on the subject and it can be frightening when we're unsure of what we carry that could make our birds ill! Still, over a lifetime of keeping birds, researching their ailments, talking to avian vets and other people who keep parrots... and I was a med student before I had to quit because of my own health problems, so I have at least an amateur basic understanding of human diseases... I know of very few circumstances in which a parrot became seriously ill from catching a disease from their human being. I find that very encouraging.

[Yoshi's Mama]

Thank you for the wonderful information. I have just tried to mostly stay away but now that I have had my dose of antibiotics I feel much safer! Now to just get to feeling better! I have been watching him and he still seems okay. :D